NJ Council's Planning Approvals Survive Court Scrutiny

By Ama Sarfo

Law360, New York (January 25, 2013, 3:13 PM ET) -- A New Jersey appeals court on Friday refused to invalidate two Highlands Water Protection and Planning Council resolutions that conditionally approved master plan and land-use regulations for Clinton and High Bridge, N.J., saying the council followed appropriate procedural requirements.

Housing advocate Fair Share Housing Center argued the Council was required to evaluate the applications in compliance with the state Administrative Procedure Act, but a three-judge panel said the Highlands Act, which gives the council the authority to address planning in the environmentally sensitive region, is the...